Victoria

The approach by water to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, has often been described as nearly, if not quite, equal in beauty to the approach to Stock-holm. The city is situated on a deep, narrow inlet opening from the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island, and is eighty miles distant from the mainland. Added to the beauties of its immediate neighbourhood there are superb views of the Olympian chain and the snow-capped Mount Baker. The geniality of the climate, which may be compared to that of the south of England, renders the city a most desirable place of residence, and it boasts of being the most English town in Canada. There is hardly an English garden flower which is not to be found growing in its gardens, besides many indigenous flowering shrubs, and roses bloom on till Christmas time.

The city is a thriving one, and there are many handsome hotels, business blocks, and fine shops ; but the parliament building is an outstanding feature of its architecture, and ranks among the finest public buildings in North America.

Like Vancouver, Victoria is a port of very considerable importance, and is, moreover, the headquarters of the Canadian seal-fishing industry. A few miles distant is Esquimalt, which was until recently a British naval station, with a splendid land-locked harbour. It will henceforth be used as the Pacific headquarters of the newly-established Canadian Navy.

Now that the immense resources of Vancouver Island in timber, minerals, and agricultural resources are beginning to be recognised at their true value, it is difficult to limit the extent to which the city of Victoria may be expected to develop in the near future.

About Canada

Canada is a country in North America consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. At 9.98 million square kilometres in total, Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Its common border with the United States is the world's longest land border shared by the same two countries.

Being Canadian

I think being Canadian helps you as a journalist in America, because you’re sort of on the outside watching this big party going on, and you’re sort of taking mental notes as it goes on. I think if you’re in the party the whole time, you don’t notice it as much. And I think Canadians are very good observers of American culture.
Graydon Carter